October 2011, second to last day of training camp.
Our second to last day of training camp we found out our teams; then we were given the afternoon to do something as a together, to pray together, get to know each other and go where we felt led to go. Well, we felt led to go to Starbucks. Perhaps by our stomachs:)
After we ordered I sat down next to a lady and started chatting. She asked about our trip and I told her the coolest thing about having a team is that no matter what, someone can identify with anyone we come across. She was very sweet and basically said, well, that's nice but I'm from Sudan so that doesn't work with me.
I excused myself, ran to get Britt O and brought her back to chat with Raga. You see, Britt O has been in Sudan, fairly recently. How cool is our God? It was such a pleasure to sit back and listen to the two of them chat about cities and culture in Sudan, both having a common frame of reference to pull from.
Left to Right: Naomi Allen, Britt Olson, Suzy Hachey, Our new friend Raga, Kelly King, Britt Baker, Me.
Next, we got to talking about how names mean something and guess what? Raga (Also spelled raja) is Persian for Hope, a patient kind of hope. Britt and I looked at each other and just knew this described our team. Later, as we talked with the rest of our ladies, we realized that in Hindi, Raja also means King. Well, we are a team of ladies who are patiently waiting to bring the kingdom of our King here to earth. How. Awesome. Team name, check.
What I got from this super cool encounter is, even if we are from different cultures and situations, I can usually identify with someone's hopes and dreams because humans have so much in common. People love to talk about themselves, their family, sometimes their history. Listening is one way to reflect and connect with a tiny piece of how much God loves each of us.
